Provide 70 pc jobs to Himachalis or face action: CM
Nahan, July 16
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh inaugurated the Palion bridge on the Roon, constructed at a cost of Rs 83 lakh, here yesterday.
Addressing a public meeting, he warned that strict action would be taken against industrialists denying 70 per cent employment to residents of Himachal Pradesh.

Health Dept flouts rules
Shortage of anaesthetists
Dharamsala, July 16
Faced with an acute shortage of anaesthetists, the state Health Department has decided to make do with a six-month training course for MBBS doctors which has no recognition as per Indian laws.

Pheasant-breeding programme in disarray
Shimla, July 16
The prestigious project for captive breeding of the highly endangered western tragopan species has gone awry.
While three of the four chicks born last year died, there has been no breeding this season.

Forest policy to focus on eco-tourism
Shimla, July 16
The new forest policy formulated by the government will enable the hill state to exploit potential for medicinal plants and eco-tourism besides preserving biodiversity.
The state has a vast reserve of forest wealth valued at over Rs 1 lakh crore
which needs to be protected and preserved.

Protest against woman’s death
Palampur, July 16
Women from Band Vihar and adjoining villages staged a dharna in front of the local police station today. These women were protesting against the death of Vandna Kumari, who had committed suicide because of maltreatment by her in-laws.

ABVP plans stir for VC’s ouster
Shimla, July 16
The state unit of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad has decided to launch a statewide stir to put pressure on the government for the dismissal of Dr L.R. Verma, Vice-Chancellor of Himachal Pradesh University, and other
demands.

Army Chief visits Yol cantt
Dharamsala, July 16
The Chief of the Army Staff, Gen J.J. Singh, today arrived at Yol cantonment, near here, on a two-day visit. His wife, Anupama Singh, president of the Army Wives Welfare Association, accompanied him. This is his first visit to the cantonment.

Prisoners get remission in jail term
Nahan, July 16
The Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Mr Virbhadra Singh, yesterday laid the foundation stone of a sub-jail to be constructed at a cost of Rs 2.66 crore in the Nahan Model Central Jail complex here.

Addressing a public meeting, he warned that strict action would be taken against industrialists denying 70 per cent employment to residents of Himachal Pradesh.

He made it clear that the government would not spare anybody violating government instructions on employment.

He said the Labour Department was being strengthened and the government had sanctioned several new posts and offices in the department to keep a watch on the interests and welfare of factory workers.

He said the Labour Department had been undertaking video-photography of factory workers and issuing them photo identity cards.

Forms had been provided to fill in complete information regarding workers including permanent and correspondence address, by the Labour Department, the Chief Minister added.

He said the state had gone through an industrial revolution in the past three years and a half.

The state had attracted industrial investment worth Rs 18,000 crore, he added.

Increasing industrial growth would strengthen the economy of the state and provide employment avenues in a big way, he said.

Mr Virbhadra Singh said Himachal Pradesh had made remarkable progress on the all fronts, especially in education, in which it had been judged number one in the country.

He said the government had opened 14 degree colleges in the state in the past one year.

At present, Himachal Pradesh had more that 15,500 educational institutions, he said. He announced that from the next academic session, technical and professional courses would be started in almost all degree colleges in the state.

The Chief Minister said at present, 100 private educational institutions had been providing technical and professional education in the state.

He said an engineering college was being opened at Atulnagar in Sundernagar, which would be functional from this session. The Chief Minister announced that the high schools at Palion and Berma Papri had been upgraded to Class XII and new classes would start from this session.

He expressed the hope that with the measures taken by Centre, prices of essential commodities like wheat and pulses would come down.

He said powers of state governments to act against hoarding and blackmarketing of 32 listed items had been taken away by the Centre in 2002.

All Chief Ministers had demanded the restoration of the powers, he added.

The Chief Minister said due to forward marketing, a new system had taken place, and by creating artificial shortage of commodities, prices had been increased.

The Chief Minister assured the residents of Nahan and villagers of Sirmour district that he would personally look into the issue of irregular electricity supply and unannounced power cuts in these areas.

He made it clear that Himachal Pradesh had surplus power and had been feeding other states.

No house would remain dark in the name of industrialisation, he added.

Mr Gangu Ram Musafir, Speaker of the Vidhan Sabha, said the government had opened degree colleges at Shillai, Sangrah and Rajgarh this year.

Dharamsala, July 16
Faced with an acute shortage of anaesthetists, the state Health Department has decided to make do with a six-month training course for MBBS doctors which has no recognition as per Indian laws.

Medical experts say the training programme has no legal sanction, as a six-month course cannot be regarded equivalent to a degree or diploma in anaesthesia.

Though the Medical Council of India (MCI) does not monitor the activities of the Health Department on a regular basis, this can lead to a medico-legal problem for the department if anything goes wrong during the treatment of patients.

Dr N.K.Kaushik, Principal of the Dr Rajendra Prasad Medical College, Tanda, where the training course is being held, admitted that the medical norms did not approve of such short-term training programmes and this could lead to a medico-legal problem.

“But I don’t think there would be a problem if adequate training is given to them,” he said.

At places where surgeons are available but there are no qualified anaesthetists, the department had no other option but to make such make-do arrangements.

Dr G.S. Kochar, an ex-consultant anaesthetist at PGI, Chandigarh, and member of Governing Council of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), said a qualified anaesthetist underwent two years of training for critical care before he got a degree, which was not comparable to a capsule training course.

The MD in anaesthesia involves one-year training and home jobs, as anaesthesia is an important stream of medicine.

“There can be a medico-legal problem if the anaesthetists working at civil hospitals and CHCs are not a degree or diploma holders,” he said.

Sources say the training is being given in view of upgradation of the Civil Hospital, Nurpur, and community health centre (CHC) Fatehpur, in Kangra district under the National Rural Health Mission, for which the department has released a grant of Rs 80 lakh.

Besides, the provision for blood storage, the Civil Hospital and the CHC also need anaesthetists to be upgraded to the first referral units.

Ms Sushma Rath, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, who was in Dharamsala recently to oversee the upgradation of these two units, said the reason for shortfall of anaesthetists was primarily due to the fact that there were only two medical colleges in the state.

But the training course would make sure that treatment of ailments was not affected till the time qualified anesthetists were available with the department, he said.

The proposal was to upgrade all the 13 CHCs and five civil hospitals in the Kangra district to first referral units under the rural heath mission.

Shimla, July 16
The prestigious project for captive breeding of the highly endangered western tragopan species has gone awry.

While three of the four chicks born last year died, there has been no breeding this season. None of the four eggs laid by two pairs in clutches hatched. The programme on which the success of survival of the species depends seems to have lost its way midway.

The government is now looking for yet another international expert who can make the breeding programme a success.

It had initially engaged Mr John Corder, a conservation-breeding expert from the World Pheasants
Association, and a Belgian expert last year, Mr Francy Harman, was appointed as consultant.

The Sarhan Pheasatnry is the only place in the world, which has three pairs of the rare bird in captivity.

The entry of the second expert did not help as their approach and opinion differed vastly.

Mr Corder maintained that the breeding should be natural and carried out in a quiet undisturbed environment.

He found the Sarhan pheasantry ideal for the purpose. His approach led to successful breeding within two years.

In 2004, eggs were laid but there was no hatching but in 2005 the same pair laid two clutches of six eggs out of which four were hatched.

However, the wildlife department engaged Mr Harman in between who wanted the project to be shifted to Kufri, near Shimla, and advocated artificial insemination instead of natural breeding.

The government is now scouting for a third expert to find a way out
of the conflicting opinions of the two experts and make the breeding programme a success.

A search committee, comprising Inspector-General of Forests (Wild life), a representative of the Central Zoo Authority and Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) for the purpose.

The committee will get in touch with international organisations engaged in the breeding of pheasants to find a suitable person who could provide technical guidance for the programme.

Technical aspect apart, the department had also been lagging in development of infrastructure under the project.

The Central Zoo Authority had approved Rs 4.93 crore for the project and sanctioned Rs 70 lakh for 2005-06.

However, the department failed to spend Rs 40 lakh released as a result of which the reaming Rs 30 lakh was not released.

Not only that the department also failed to get similar project for the breeding of another endangered species, the Cheer pheasant.

Shimla, July 16
The new forest policy formulated by the government will enable the hill state to exploit potential for medicinal plants and eco-tourism besides preserving biodiversity.

The state has a vast reserve of forest wealth valued at over Rs 1 lakh crore which needs to be protected and preserved. The thrust of the new policy is that forest could be preserved only if people could be ensured security of livelihood. A new functional classification of forests has been made where, the value of forest to meet the needs of conservation, production, community needs and urban services have been recognised.

In addition to these new shifts, there is a greater recognition of environmental and watershed services of forests in the new policy. It recognises the fact that hill state had uncultivable, barren land, snow covered peaks, which cannot sustain forests. As such a realistic target bring 35.5 per cent of total geographical area under forest and tree cover had been set. A rehabilitation programme of degraded and open forests and available non-forest land has also been envisaged.

Keeping in view the increasing demands of people and commercial needs, the rights and concessions in forest areas will be reviewed. The timber distribution rights will be routed through the institution of gram sabha and periodicity, quantity and rates for timber drawing (TD) rights will be rationalized. Similarly, for grazing rights of both, migratory and otherwise, population, a consultative mechanism will be evolved along with the gram sabha.

A special focus on medicinal and aromatic plants as part of non-wood forest product management would be developed with an emphasis on livelihood security in both public and private lands. It is envisaged that the government will develop incentives to encourage forest-based industries and procured raw material for such industries from sources other than government forests.

It is proposed that nature-based tourism including wilderness tourism will be promoted in consonance with the eco-tourism policy of the state is cold-desert areas cooperative micro enterprises will be promoted. Demarcation and settlement will receive urgent attention of the state and encroachment and illegal occupation on forest land would be removed. The survey, settlement and demarcation of undemarcated and unsettled notified forests will be taken up on high priority.

Requisite institutional support to implement the new forest sector policy has also been outlined. A key feature is strengthening and reconstitution of an independent, autonomous and multi-sectoral centre for policy and planning.

Palampur, July 16
Women from Band Vihar and adjoining villages staged a dharna in front of the local police station today. These women were protesting against the death of Vandna Kumari, who had committed suicide because of maltreatment by her in-laws.

Vandna was married one and half year ago and was pregnant when the mishap occurred. She was being harassed by her in-laws since she had got married. Vandna had told about this to her parents many times, but they always told her to adjust.

Yesterday when her husband rebuked her she consumed poison and ended her life. She left a suicide note behind.

As soon as the news of her death reached her parental village, hundreds of women started a march to Palampur and staged a dharna in front of the police station. They were demanding immediate arrest of the in-laws of Vandna and her husband Sunil. The dharna continued for four hours.

In her suicide note Vandna had categorically stated the names of her husband Sunil and mother-in-law Savtri.

The police has registered a case under Sections 498-A and 306, IPC, against the in-laws of
Vandna.

Shimla, July 16
The state unit of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has decided to launch a statewide stir to put pressure on the government for the dismissal of Dr L.R. Verma, Vice-Chancellor of Himachal Pradesh University, and other
demands.

The state convention of the parishad held here today expressed serious concern over the increasing corruption in education and the worsening problem of
unemployment.

It decided to hold a dharna tomorrow in support to its demand for sacking of the Vice-Chancellor and carry out a signature campaign from July 18 to 22 which would culminate with rallies and dharnas at all the district headquarters. From July 28 to August 5 a statewide drive to enroll new members would be undertaken. On August 10 it would stage protests against increasing political interference in educational institutions and demand dismissal of Mr B.R. Rahi, Chairman of the Himachal Board of School Education.

Dharamsala, July 16
The Chief of the Army Staff, Gen J.J. Singh, today arrived at Yol cantonment, near here, on a two-day visit. His wife, Anupama Singh, president of the Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA), accompanied him. This is his first visit to the cantonment.

General J.J. Singh was received by the GOC of 9 Corps, Lieut-Gen P.K. Rampal. He briefed General Singh on the operational and administrative aspects of the Rising Star. The COAS interacted with the officers posted at the Corps Headquarters. The General also visited the newly created infrastructure, including the Rising Star Museum.

The Army Chief complimented all ranks of the corps on the occasion for achieving high professional standards as also for transforming Yol cantonment into a pleasant and eminently habitable military station within a short span of just 10 months.
— TNS

Nahan, July 16
The Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Mr Virbhadra Singh, yesterday laid the foundation stone of a sub-jail to be constructed at a cost of Rs 2.66 crore in the Nahan Model Central Jail complex here. On this occasion, the Chief Minister announced a remission of three-month jail term to each prisoner of
Nahan jail.

Mr Virbhadra Singh said the government was committed to bring about jail reforms and create a vast infrastructure of the modern jail and provide prisoners with better living
conditions.